In my second viewing of the film Memento, I was struck as to how many of the details in my first viewing I had glossed over, in order to make sense of the plot. I blame this entirely on Guy Pearce’s hotness and my inability to focus, because he is so hot. But I digress. I would like to explore the elements of film noir echoed in Memento. In the spirit of postmodern intertexuality and self-referentiality, Memento draws from the noir genre and reworks the elements to create a unique story. The noir trope of the flawed protagonist is reflected in Leonard’s character. Though, in this case, the flaw seems overwhelming, as Leonard’s auterograde amnesia, his inability to retain short-term memory, makes him a highly unreliable narrator. This in turn complicates all of the relationships in the film. I am reminded of Double Indemnity (1944), directed by Billy Wilder, both in terms of character types and mode of storytelling, and also in cinematographic details. The narrative form of Double Indemnity is the real time confessions of Walter Neff, played by Fred MacMurray, played out with the flashback narrative, which tells the story. The scenes when Walter Neff is talking into a dictaphone, confessing his crime, telling his side, seems to reappear again, reworked in the scenes when Leonard is on the phone in the hotel room, telling his own story. These flashbacks are set off in Memento by black and white filming, setting this narration apart from the rest of the story. These scenes also hearken back to noir, in cinematographic details, particularly having to do with light. Leonard is in a hotel room, the scene is shot in black and white, and the play of light both off his face and in the room is reflective of concerns with light patterns in noir film, particularly ones cause by Venetian blinds. This partial obscurity, caused by streams of light, emphasize the theme of noir film, that nothing is what it seems, that there are facts obscured and unseen by the characters and also the audience. In Memento, the way that the light streams into the room, when Leonard is on the phone, casting shadows and illuminations, suggests that even this moment of confession, or telling, is somehow partially obscured. Another element of film noir is the femme fatale- in Double Indemnity she is Phyllis Dietrichson, played by Barbara Stanwyck, who plots with Walter Neff to kill off her husband and collect insurance money on the double indemnity clause. This character type is reflected in Natalie, who like Phyllis, is not entirely who she makes herself out to be, and in some way manipulates the protagonist. Though, again, Memento, in its modern day reworking of the genre, complicates the already complicated by the unsteadiness and shaky ground established by Leonard’s inability to create short-term memories, and his sheer vulnerability to manipulation by strangers, from Burt issuing two hotel rooms, to Teddy’s murder-for-hire plots. The intertextual details and unique plot sequencing make for an intriguing film. The concern with seeking out the truth, the truth that is so sublimated and obscured, so seemingly unattainable, is offset by Memento’s depictions of the process of finding truth (even if it doesn’t exist), an equally important venture.
Comments are closed.